"I think I should rephrase myself from my previous letters when I was talking about taking a 'break,' " Spears wrote, referring to letters posted October 15 and November 4 (see "Britney Spears Announces She's Taking A Break From Her Career" and "Britney, Back From Honeymoon, Posts Another Letter"). "What I meant was I am taking a break from being told what to do. ... It's cool when you look at someone and don't know whether they are at work or play since it's all the same to them. The things I've been doing for work lately have been so much fun, because it's not like work to me anymore. I've been even more 'hands on' in my management and the business side of things, and I feel more in control than ever."

Part of that sense of control, she said, comes from fighting her record label to commission a video for "Do Somethin'," one of the new tracks on her recent career retrospective, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative. Ultimately she won, but she said she was "a little disappointed" that she had to convince her label "that making this video was the right thing to do at this time" (right now, the clip is slated to air only in overseas markets).

Though she didn't disclose the concept for the "Do Somethin' " video, she described the clip as "cute." She might have also described it as hectic — since it was shot "in a record-breaking five hours." That wasn't the only pressure added, though. Spears played multiple behind-the-scenes roles co-directing, handling styling and arranging dance steps. Her directing partner was Bille Woodruff, whom she described as "young" and "hungry," despite the fact that his credits include the forthcoming film "Beauty Shop" as well as 2003's "Honey" and a long list of music videos including Nelly's "Hot in Herre," Fat Joe featuring Ashanti's "What's Luv?" and R. Kelly's "The World's Greatest," as well as Spears' own "Born to Make You Happy."

"He had no ego whatsoever, and the whole process was just so much fun," she wrote. "I even came up with all the choreography and styled the entire shoot myself using Juicy Couture clothing. ... I think everything came out great."

Most importantly, she said, co-directing the video gave her a taste for working behind the scenes, which she said she now hopes to do more of "in the near future." That's why she's been writing a musical that she'd like to also direct, called "Hollywood," which "makes fun of the whole Hollywood scene."

"After doing about 20 videos, it gets kind of boring playing the same role," she wrote. "I feel like being behind the camera is sometimes more satisfying than being in front of it."